Week 2: Learning the New Testament

Well, week two proved to be a little harder than week one.  It was a challenge to remember the events and sequence, so a friend resorted to taking notes for us.  I know. We cheated.  But it's for a good cause!  I do hope to get this down really well and be able to present  it as a series of lessons to our Truth Town kids at church.  

Picking up where we left off last week, or I guess the week before last since I'm late in posting, is the next sequence of places and events and which event happened where.  (Not sure of some of the spelling.)

Jerusalem

    2nd birth
Sychar
    Woman at the well
Nazareth
    Rejected
Capernaum
    Selection of the 12
    Sermon on the mount
    Power over Satan
    Parables start
    Storm stilled
    Crowd filled
    Testing of Peter
    Transfiguration
Jerusalem
    Stones flew, Jesus withdrew
Periya  
    Counting the cost
    Seeking the lost

Week 1: Learning the New Testament

A friend asked if several homeschool kids could gather at a local church for a friend to practice her Walk Thru the Bible lessons as part of her training.  I thought it sounded interested.  Today was the first meeting.  wow!  Very neat.  The lessons are taught with simple hand motions and words as well as props.  Her focus for this group is the New Testament.  There are seventy-something motions and words that tell about the events, places and people of the NT in chronological order.  Here are the ones we learned today, minus the hand signs.  I'm trying to do them as I type :-)

400 years - Silent
Malachi - Matthew
Powers
Greece - Language
Israel - Hope
Rome - Roads
Politics
Sanhedrin
Scribes
Sadducee
Pharisees
Publicans
Zealots
Four distinct views
One Good News
Bethlehem - Birth
Nazareth - Carpenter
Jordan - Baptized by John
Wilderness - Tempted by Satan

It is surprisingly simple to remember, which I guess is the point.

I loved the reminder of how God was still working even during those silent years between Malachi and Matthew.  He used the Greeks to spread a common language, renewed the Jewish people's hope in God, and allowed the Romans to create a road system all in order to aid the spread of the gospel.  Silent but still working.

Oh and a bonus - this blew my mind.  It's not hard to remember 66 books in the Bible, but remembering how many are in each of the testaments is a little challenging.

How many books in the Old Testament?  Well, how many letters in 'old'? 3.  How many letters in testament? 9 - 39 books in the Old Testament.  How many books in the New Testament?  Well, what's 3x9?  27 books in the New Testament.  Super neat!  How did I not know this?!

Love the Lord

And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.  Mark 12:29-30

Heart - core of identity or deepest identity; the source of our thoughts, words, actions

Soul - emotions

Mind - will; power of intention (i.e. I've made up my mind)

Strength - physical energy

These are some of my notes - listening to a sermon on the internet today while answering the phones at church.

Tea Time

Music, Bible teaching, food and lots of fun ladies = wonderful morning fellowship!  I named my table Simple Elegance. 

Super Duper Busy

"I'm running around like a chicken head" - say that in an Indian (from India) accent - I used to work for a doctor and when we got really busy that's what she would say.  It still cracks me up just thinking about it!  She was so cute.  Anyway...... 

That's me this week, at least I still have my head, I think!  I've had work days and meetings at the church this week.  Hopefully, we will be getting a new pastor soon.  We are also preparing for our Ladies Tea, or Simplici-Tea, as we are calling it this year.  Amidst all that I'm trying to deal with our math woes.  I think I have that figured out though.  Math-U-See should be arriving tomorrow for Braden.  Hopefully by Saturday afternoon I'll be able to take a breather!